Late Night Confessionb
by Dreamer1985
Summary: Candy makes a confession to the Cartwright males after a party - one that stuns them all. Sorry i had to repost  3rd time , it kept putting up an old one of Hoss'.


**Fan-Fiction**

**Bonanza**

**Candy…ONE SHOT**

**LATE NIGHT CONFESSION**

**NOTE: I did this one shot by request,**

**And sorry, but the bee isn't buzzing loud enough **

**For anything longer.**

NOTE: Cartwright women is in reference to my stories that have Jennifer, Celeste, Shay, and Alice in them. And yes, I have Adam in here, but not Jamie.

The sun had fallen to sleep and all the Cartwright women were asleep in their own beds, while their men sat talking in the front room of Ben's home. They talked about the party that had just ended, of their wives letting out a loud 'Praise be, that is over' - in reference to one very big Christmas party, and what their lives would be like without them in their lives.

"Lonely." Candy spoke up from where he'd been sitting silently in one of Ben's chairs. The deep emotion he spoke with shocked the Cartwright men.

"There's plenty of women out there." Little Joe smiled. "If you're that lonesome, why not go get one?"

"Because there's no replacing Kaaunei -least not yet- maybe, not ever." Candy wasn't surprised that remark got raised eyebrows from everyone.

"Who's Kaaunei?" Ben asked wondering who had caught his foreman's eye and then not handed it back.

"She was my wife." That floored everyone present.

"Your what?" Adam asked just seconds before Hoss -who's face shone with pure shock.

"You heard me the first time." Candy leaned back and turned his hat around his hands.

"When?" Ben spoke softly as he saw the foreman wearing a look of pain he seldom ever let anyone see.

"Five years…" Candy's eyes might as well have had mist in front of them as he began recounting how he'd ended up married to Kaaunei.

'_Thing is you gotta to promise to keep my three most prized possessions. I don't care what you do with the rest' The lawyer - William McKenzie; known rather as Dodger - read an old man's will - by the name of Feisty - to Candy as the ranch hand for a local ranch in the Williamette Valley. "You have to sign these papers and agree to it."_

"I did. Figured if Dusty was a horse, Misty a dog, than Stormy had to be another animal." Candy rubbed his forehead. "When Dodger brought Kaaunei I about fell off my chair. She was so young and looked to be from the South Seas." "He gave you a girl?" They were all dumbfounded.

"He and I never had seen eye to eye on people being sold. But …" Candy sighed. "I'd given my word -not to mention my signature- to not hand her to anyone else, and I couldn't just drag her reputation through the mud, so I married her. Could I really have done anything else with her and Feisty's mind set?"

"No, guess not." Ben wondered -outloud- what kind of woman she was to have entrenched herself so deep into Candy's heart under those conditions.

"She was quiet in public - only gave a faint smile, but in private?" Candy's voice choked up. "She laughed, cried, and yelled - sometimes in the same breath." The man started chuckling. "Sometimes I think she had to have met Shay because she loved wooden spoons." That brought a chuckle out of Hoss - who had learned real fast not to mess with Shay and her cooking due to that particular object. Ben's foreman started back up. "I was so afraid of hurting her that it seemed forever before I could even kiss her, but once that ball started rolling it rolled hard and fast. I hadn't ever though a female could make me so happy, and it just wasn't a physical thing either." Candy's voice went firm in conviction.

"Why didn't you ever say anything before? Why lead us into thinking you were a rambler who called no place home?" Adam couldn't comprehend the man viewed as a brother hiding anything from him.

"Because it's hurt too much to talk about." He gave a soft half-hearted chuckle as he wondered if that meant he was beginning to heal from the pain.

"What changed. I mean what happened?" Ben felt his heart go out to a man who he had thought he'd knew.

"Jules." Candy's voice bit hard with resentment. "If he ever shows back up, I swear I'll plant a bullet I him for murdering Kaaunei."

"Murder?" All the Cartwright men sat straight up.

"_Come here little lady, let Daddy show you a good time. " Jules - a local gambler- had cornered Kaaunei in a corner of a hotel. Her screams had brought Candy running into the room._

"_Leave, Kaaunie alone. She's mine." Candy yanked the man away from his gal._

"_What do you want her for? She ain't even human. You could find someone far better to warm your bed. Sell her to me, I need a slave." Jules grinned with a look in his eye which shouted clearly what kind of slave he wanted._

"_She's not for sale -she's my wife." Candy stood between Jules and one very frightened female._

"_Oh, didn't know the cards fell that way. In that case, I'll leave her be." Jules had turned and left the establishment._

"Only he didn't leave her alone. We left Oregon and headed into California. He followed us." Candy would have thrown something against the wall, but the man no longer had the energy to even do that. "Coward, couldn't win fair fight, and was furious I wouldn't hand her over, so…" The man gulped. "…he shot her in the back as we were almost to the ranch I'd been hired to work at."

"He shot her in the back?" Little Joe was stunned.

"Ya, I saw him, but it was too late and I buried my wife in the deserts of California. This is the first time I've ever told anyone about her." Candy felt drained from talking and his sagging shoulders proved it.

"Glad you feel comfortable enough with us to open up." Adam gave Candy a soft smile.

"Me too… surprisingly." Candy stood up. "I think I'm going to turn in for the night - if you don't mind. I'm done with this late night confession."

"We don't mind. You go get some decent sleep -have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Ben replied and watched the man exit the house.

"Hope - someday- he gets a second chance at love." Hoss spoke as he thought on his time with Emily, then Julie and now Shay.

"Me too." Ben stood up deciding it was time to turn in himself.

"We all do." Adam got out of his chair deciding dreamland sounded good. Little Joe and Hoss weren't far behind.


End file.
